322.

Spurrell’s Woolly Bat

Kerivoula phalaena

French: Kérivoule phaléne / German: Spurrell-Wollfledermaus / Spanish: Querivoula de Spurrell

Other common names: Spurell’s Trumpet-eared Bat

Taxonomy. Kerivoula phalaena Thomas, 1912,

“Bibianaha [= Bibiani], inland of Denkwa, Gold Coast [= Western province, Ghana}. Alt. 720° [= 219 m].”

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, DR Congo, and W Uganda.

Descriptive notes. Head-body c¢.31 37 mm, tail 32-42 mm, ear 11-14 mm, hindfoot 6-7- 2 mm, forearm 25-28 mm (males) and 27-30 mm (females); weight ¢.2- 2-5 g. Forearms of females average longer than males. Pelage is dense, woolly, and frizzled, with many hairs having hooked tips. Dorsal pelage is pale reddish brown, fawn-brown or grayish brown but notfrosted. Dorsal hairs are usually darker at bases. Mid-dorsal hairs are 6-7 mm. Ventral pelage is paler and less reddish. Ears are funnel-shaped, medium brown, widely separated, and short for a vespertilionid. Tragus is long and narrow and tapers to fairly sharp point. Wings are blackish brown, with pelage not extending to dorsal surfaces of forearm and tibia. Uropatagium is blackish brown, with posterior margin having thinly scattered hairs but not comb-like fringe of hooked bristle-like hairs and very few hairs on dorsal surfaces. Head is high-domed. Muzzle is long, pointed, and hidden by facial pelage. Eyes are minute. Tail is slightly shorter or longer than head-body length. Skull is very small (greatest skull lengths 11-6-12- 5 mm); braincase is high-domed; and rostrum is narrow, with frontal region sharply angular to plane. I? is unicuspid or with small secondary cusp at posterior base; Iis two-thirds the length of I, with one minute cusp at internal base; I and I, are tricuspid, and 1, is unicuspid; and lower premolars are subequal in height and breadth.

Habitat. Mostly lowland rainforests and forests but also montane forests at elevations of 700-2400 m (north-eastern DR Congo and western Uganda) and gallery forests (north-eastern Ivory Coast). Spurrell’s Woolly Bat occurs in forested habitats in the Mount Nimba area at elevations of 450-700 m.

Food and Feeding. Spurrell’s Woolly Bat probably forages by gleaning.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. In Uganda, a male Spurrell’s Woolly Bat was taken from the nest of a warbler (Apalis sp.). Echolocation calls are steep, broadband FM calls.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List.

Bibliography. ACR (2017), Fahr (2013ac), Monadjem, Richards & Denys (2016).